


Just Another Concert

by bingbong21



Series: Let's Get This Show on the Road [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Boyband, Gen, Pidge is a little shit, and slamming the "unique" spelling of names, boyband!voltron, excessive heathers references, however this is the concert fic someone asked for, hunk and pidge play keep away from allura using themselves, keith vs. the sudoku cube, klance trends on twitter just fyi, lance is a little shit, original fans, pidge rambles about da vinci's sexuality for a bit there, rated t for lance's excessive sexual innuendos near the end there, shiro did not sign a contract to babysit four overgrown children, techie pidge and hunk, the boyband au no one really asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-25 02:57:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10755312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bingbong21/pseuds/bingbong21
Summary: Life can get pretty hectic, but life specifically during a concert? Well at least the fans make it worthwhile...Can occur at any time after The Nyma Situation.





	Just Another Concert

**Author's Note:**

> If it's in the middle, it's an original song verse or whatever I wrote. So I'mma apologize right off the bat for them.

Underneath the red spotlight Pidge sighed, tousling her hair until part of it covered one eye; she made sure to not jostle the headset too much. She crossed her arms over her chest, scowling in the direction of the booth. Readying her diaphragm for the deeper pitch she needed to hit, Pidge slouched and spoke into the mike. 

“My name is Keith, and I’m _so_ emo.” 

The uproar of laughter filling her ears was enough to cause her to break character, a grin spreading across her face. She shielded her eyes from the spotlight, trying to stare up into the booth to no avail; the lighting was designed to keep the audience and booth dark so as not to distract the performers. Judging by the wheezing and difficulty Hunk and Coran had with regaining their breath however, Pidge could safely assume they were doubled over with laughter. 

“Okay…okay, okay.” Hunk wheezed; she could hear a shifting of a chair in the background. “Oh man, Pidge, you gotta give us some _warning_ next time!”

“I’ll admit I certainly wasn’t expecting the caricature to be so spot-on!” Coran chimed in; Pidge shrugged, pulling her eyes back to the tablet as she checked on how various systems were running. 

“What can I say, I’m a girl of many talents,” Pidge tapped a few items, making adjustments. “Now can we check the other lightings and colors?” 

“Alright, how about this one?” Hunk asked; the red spotlight disappeared, leaving Pidge cast in the dense darkness of the concert hall. Suddenly she was bathed in blue light, forcing her to blink rapidly to adjust. 

“Too easy.” Pidge replied, but cleared her throat for the impression anyway. She made sure to straighten her spine, drawing herself up to her full height before beginning to her flail her arms. 

“Look at me, I’m Lance!” She squeaked out, voice rough but at a higher pitch than Keith’s. “Say, is that a cute girl over there?” 

The chuckles in the booth turned into full-blown belly laughter once she swept her hand through her hair and shot finger guns in a random direction, clearly imitating what Lance had trademarked as “his signature move”. Pidge felt her own giggles bubbling up in response; she never could keep a straight face for the entirety of this certain pre-concert ritual of theirs. 

“Alright,” Hunk began, turning the blue light off, “Now how about _this_ one?” 

The stage was suddenly flooded in orange light, causing Pidge to blink rapidly both to adjust to the light and in confusion. No one on the team was really associated with the color orange…unless of course you counted…

“You want me to do Coran?” Pidge asked, squinting up at the booth despite being a fruitless endeavor. She could hear Hunk’s snickers clearly over Coran’s sudden protests, confirming his impression selection. Pidge cleared her throat as she wracked her brain for something so specific to Coran that a complete stranger could understand the type of person that Coran is. Finally, she found the common thread in all of their interactions with Coran and, grasping onto it tightly, raised her finger to her upper lip in a poor imitation of Coran’s mustache. 

“Blah blah blah,” Pidge spoke, voice accented to imitate Coran. “Crazy words; mustache!” 

She heard Coran scoff in the headset while Hunk giggled and chortled; she could imagine Coran standing there, arms crossed with his nose in the air while Hunk was bent over, hand failing to stifle his laughter. “I do not sound like that,” Coran protested. “And quite honestly I’m insulted that that’s how you think of me!” 

“I thought it was pretty accurate,” Hunk chimed in, having calmed down. “I mean you’re always going off on tangents about your younger years with Alfor about things that I’m pretty sure don’t exist.” 

“Yelmores are quite real thank you very much! I’d have evidence too if our camera hadn’t run out of film!” 

“Plus you stroke your mustache like, all the time. You do it so often that Keith has a theory it’s just a sentient caterpillar you found and you can’t bear to be apart from it.”

Pidge adjusted her headset as she ran through checklists on her tablet. “That reminds me: Hunk, make sure I put vodka on our next shopping list. Those drinks Lance made last time were amazing, and watching Keith pound them back like a champ was _inspiring_.” 

“You got it.” 

The spotlight was turned off as the sound of Coran huffing came in clear as a bell. “Alright, well let’s just see how _you_ like it!”

The stage was flooded with a bright yellow light; Hunk could be heard shouting as soon as he registered the color change. Pidge rolled her eyes and, despite finding Coran’s selection far too simple, readjusted her body position to get the deepest voice she could naturally produce. She bent forward, wrapping both arms tightly around her stomach in a fake effort to keep whatever was coming back up where it belonged. 

“Ugh, I don’t feel so good,” Pidge groaned; she added a small forced burp for good measure, simulating gastric distress. “The smell of this place is gonna make me barf!” 

Coran barked out a laugh, forcing a wince out of Pidge as she readjusted her headset. She was quickly thankful for her forethought as Coran yelped, followed by the sounds of a minor scuffle. She could only imagine how Hunk was getting his payback on Coran; most likely by one of his patented Bear Hugs that, when utilized correctly, could be an effective punishment as well as reward. 

“Don’t break anything,” Pidge grumbled into her mike, already back to focusing on the tablet in front of her. From previous experience during concert preparations, Pidge knew they only had a set amount of time before Allura found them and forced them to go prepare with Keith, Lance, and Shiro, leaving Coran with the rest of the set-up work. Luckily, she and Hunk were getting very good at this game of ‘Hide and set everything up before Allura hunts us down’ that they unintentionally created. As a result, they had gotten incredibly skilled at quickly setting up the lighting, sound systems, and special effects needed for concerts, giving them some time to double and triple check the set-ups before being herded backstage. Apparently she had trouble believing that Pidge and Hunk’s idea of mentally preparing themselves did not consist of listening to Lance’s party playlist on repeat and watching Keith track Shiro’s every movement with his eyes, as if he were afraid Shiro would spontaneously combust if left unattended. 

(In Keith’s defense, their very first concert was certainly rough on Shiro mentally and emotionally; it may have accidentally reinforced the idea.)

So caught up in her thoughts and checklists that Pidge barely noticed the noise in her headset had quieted considerably and the spotlight had turned off. What caught her attention though was the stage being flooded in a previously unused pink light. Pidge stared at the floor, wracking her mind for who could possibly be associated with the color pink; it wasn’t Shiro, as he was associated with purple due to black not lighting up stages very well, and everyone else was associated with their Paladin color. The only person Pidge could connect to the color pink was Allura, and doing an impression of her when she was obviously searching for her and Hunk would be equivalent to flipping off a cop while simultaneously drunk and high; not the best idea and definitely the fastest way to dig yourself into a hole that reaches the center of the Earth, but since you’re already in trouble go big or go home. 

(Pidge could easily imagine Lance pretending to wipe away a tear in joy at her logic while, in the background, Keith gave his silent approval and Shiro silently wondered just where exactly he had gone wrong.)

Besides, Coran and Hunk wouldn’t _intentionally_ set themselves up for punishment; from their vantage point they should easily be able to track Allura’s movements. As for why they chose Allura, Pidge assumed that it was because she never had a chance to attempt it before and they were curious. Comforted by her reasoning Pidge adjusted her mike and fixed her stance; she’d have to pitch her voice higher for this one. 

“Paladins _please_ ,” the posh accent she used was a poor imitation of Allura, “We _must_ defeat Zarkon!” 

Overall, Pidge was rather pleased with her impression. Minus the accent, it was rather accurate in her opinion. The lack of responses from the other end however had the doubt crawling up her spine like vines; usually they said _something_ by now. When the headset crackled to life Pidge breathed a sigh of relief, only to feel her blood run cold at the voice that spoke. 

“Interesting interpretation Pidge,” Allura’s voice was as chilling and gentle as a winter breeze. “The accent could use some work however.” 

They really had to work on a proper Allura alert system.

* * *

Keith frowned as he stared at the puzzle cube in his hands, twisting and turning it in the hopes that a different angle would inspire him with the solution. It was dark grey, repeating in the numbers one through nine; Shiro called it a Sudoku Cube. After they had finished running through tonight’s set Shiro had tossed it to him, explaining the rules and saying he wanted it done before they had to go on stage. Keith had shrugged, thinking that he could easily finish the puzzle with enough time to check in on Shiro’s mental and emotional state and remind everyone to run through their parts until they were ragged. He hadn’t accounted for the fact that a Sudoku Cube, while similar to a Rubik’s Cube, followed the same rules as the paper version of Sudoku as well. Every time he thought he was making headway, he found a repeating number, forcing him to start over. The only thing stopping him from chucking the cube into the trashcan across the room was his stubbornness and innate desire to listen to Shiro. Keith hummed in contemplation as he tossed the toy into the air; the numbers were just stickers on the side, just like the colors of a Rubik’s cube. Perhaps if he did it quietly enough, he could peel each sticker off, place them in the correct order without Shiro noticing, and get back to doing something actually important.

“Don’t even think about it.” Shiro’s voice cut into his thoughts. Keith startled, fumbling with the cube for a moment before turning his head to look at Shiro. He sat against the other couch opposite of the lighted mirrors and chairs, flipping the page of a paperback Allura had lent him. The black pants he was wearing were pulled tight across his crossed legs, though not nearly as tightly as the white shirt hiding underneath the black denim jacket. Shiro shifted, causing the purple glitter that matched the sequins on the back of his jacket to shimmer. 

Keith blinked, mustering every ounce of innocent naivety he could fake. “Think about what?” 

“Pulling the stickers off the cube and then applying them correctly.” Shiro looked up, meeting his gaze. “You had your ‘I’m gonna look for a barely legal loophole and hope Shiro doesn’t notice’ face on.” 

“I have no such face.” 

“Yeah you do dude,” Lance piped up, gently brushing blue glitter underneath his eyes. Keith narrowed his eyes at him, the fiery red spread underneath his eyes enhancing his annoyed appearance. 

“Weren’t you listening to your stupid pump-up playlist?” Keith growled, meeting Lance’s gaze in the mirror. Lance smirked, setting his brush down and spinning in his chair to face Keith. 

“Yeah, but I grew up with a bunch of siblings,” Lance waggled his finger, “So I know exactly when someone’s getting a scolding. It’s like a sixth sense, ya know?” 

The door opened harshly, interrupting the flow of the conversation and drawing everyone’s attention. Hunk and Pidge entered, shoulders slumped forward with frowns on their faces. Immediately Shiro, Keith, and Lance directed their attention to their phones; Lance pumped his fist in the air, letting out a joyous shout as Keith tilted his head back and groaned. 

“I’m guessing Keith lost again?” Hunk asked, rifling through the rack for his clothing for the night. He pulled out the smaller clothes and jacket, handing them to Pidge; she nodded her thanks, heading for the small bathroom to change. 

“He has to be cheating!” Keith interjected, sitting upright. “There’s no way someone is that good at guessing when two people are gonna get kicked out of something!” 

“Au contraire, my friend with horrible fashion choices,” Lance preened. “I am just naturally good at analyzing people, their past actions, and their current mood, and then applying it to current situations!” 

“Sounds fake, but okay.” 

“I hope Allura wasn’t too harsh on you and Pidge?” Shiro asked; Hunk threw the shirt he was wearing before into the pile, the black pants chosen for them all already pulled on. 

“Well I mean, she kinda tore into me for messing around in the booth with Coran,” Hunk said, reply muffled as he pulled on the assigned white shirt. “But that was like, _nothing_ compared to Pidge.” 

“My impression of her wasn’t even that bad!” Pidge shouted, slamming open the door. “I mean yeah, the accent was off, but compare it to yours or Keith’s? I went _easy_ on her.” 

Keith’s offended noise did not go unnoticed by Shiro. “Easy or not, you should probably withhold from mocking your manager or teammates.”

Pidge waved her hand as she plopped into her seat. “I’ll keep that in mind. Lance, pull up my Heather Chandler playlist; I feel like channeling my inner mythic bitch tonight.” 

“One playlist for a dead bitch made of Teflon coming right up! Would you like that with or without headphones?” 

“With,” Pidge replied, applying her primer, “Otherwise Mr. Killjoy Dad Friend over there will go into one of his Heathers rants.” 

“I just think it has a terrible plot with incredibly unlikeable characters!” Shiro responded, setting his book down on the couch. Lance looked over at Shiro as he pushed Pidge’s headphones in. 

“Dude, I aspire to Heather Chandler’s standards of beauty and fashion every day. Look myself in the mirror and ask myself, ‘Lance, would Heather Chandler call you beautiful?’ If the answer isn’t yes, then I’m doing it wrong.” 

_“Well you know, you know, you know,”_ Hunk sang, patting his face dry, _“I think you’re beautiful!”_

_“And when you’re beautiful, it’s a beautiful freaking day!”_ Lance turned to him, shaping his hands into a heart. Pidge rolled her eyes, mouth dropping open as she applied mascara. Keith glanced over at Shiro and, once satisfied that he appeared unstressed, turned back to his battle with the Sudoku Cube; he was not going to let a toy beat him damn it.

* * *

Shiro stood in the center of the room, surveying each of them; Lance was leaning back in his chair while Hunk and Pidge were straddling theirs, arms resting on the backs. Keith still sat on the couch he had first sat on, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the unfinished Sudoku Cube Shiro had handed him a few hours ago. There were only a few minutes left until they had to head out to be onstage, and Shiro liked to use this time to do one final run through of the set they had prepared that night. While they couldn’t fix any major problems, such as someone forgetting their lines or choreography, it helped put them into the right headspace before a performance.

“Alright team,” Shiro said, clapping his hands to get their attention. “Just so we’re all clear, who knows what set we’re doing tonight?” 

Lance’s hand shot up, words hot on its trail. “We are doing the newly minted, freshly pressed, Hidgance set!” 

“…Hidgance?” Keith asked after a moment’s silence. Lance spun in his chair, so excited he didn’t even both to try and make a jab. 

“Yeah, you know, Pidge, Hunk, and me!” 

“You got a problem with it?” Hunk asked, staring down Keith from behind Lance. While he knew there wasn’t any malice in his voice or body posture, Keith still couldn’t stop his posture from stiffening; Hunk got scary when he got protective. 

Keith raised his hands up in surrender. “N-No, no, it’s just…the name just, you know, took me by surprise. Wasn’t expecting it.” 

Shiro snapped his fingers, bringing their attention back to him. “Let’s focus. Now, what is the group formation?” 

Pidge spoke up this time, “Lance in front, because he’s the only one besides you here who knows what a stage presence is. Hunk on his right and me on his left; behind us are Keith on the right and you on the left. When we switch for song changes, we follow this figure eight sort of pattern, with Lance switching with me and then me switching with Hunk. The exception is for _Voltron_ , where you’ll give your goodbye spiel and we all get into Voltron formation.” 

Shiro nodded. “Good, which brings me to my next question: what is the set list for tonight?”

“Oh that’s easy! Our first portion is started off with our new triad song _Space Cadets_ , and then we go into our respective solos of _Wormhole_ , _Beta Traz_ , and _Ark of Taujeer_ , with the finale of part one being Pidge and I’s duet _Hacker Society_.” Hunk counted off each song on his fingers, continuing onto the second part. “Then Lance busts in with _Space Mall_ , followed with Pidge’s _Masquerade_ and my _Hunger_ , and the second finale is Lance and I’s _Bromance_.”

“Which is arguably the best song in the entire set,” Lance interjected; he caught Hunk’s eyes and, sharing a grin, the two began to sing.

_Boy you look so fine_

_I just want you to give me a chance_

_I’m not crossing any lines_

_When I ask for a bromance_

Pidge rubbed at her temples, eyes narrowed at Hunk and Lance’s beaming faces. “I still can’t believe that’s one of our songs. It sounds like a Lonely Island song and yet, here it is, forever on our discography with video evidence that we’ve actually performed it.” 

“Hey man, the fans _love_ it.”

Shiro stepped forward, hands raised in a placating gesture towards Lance and Pidge. “Let’s save the _Bromance_ discourse for after the show, alright? You wanna finish us off with act three big guy?”

“Right! So after _Bromance_ Pidge does _Searching for You_ , preceded by some cheesy line about bringing the romance back in bromance,” Hunk ignored Lance’s offended gasp. “Then Lance comes in with _Lovesick_ , followed by my _Tears of Balmera_ , and then Lance and Pidge finish up with _Social Media Butterfly_.”

“And then we all come together in our big finish number _Voltron_.” Shiro grinned, clapping his hands together. “Well done you guys! Let’s head out.” 

Lance sprung from his chair with an energetic yell, using his momentum to bound across the room. He stood at the door, impatiently waiting for Hunk and Pidge as they leisurely strolled towards him. Shiro shook his head, chuckling at the scene; the bigger the event, the more excited Lance seemed to get no matter how many times they did it. He glanced over his shoulder, observing how Keith brought up the rear, hands stuffed in his pocket, the picture of unaffected nonchalance to the unobservant. After knowing Keith for so long however Shiro could see the minute tenseness in his shoulders, the way his eyes scanned the room for any hidden threats yet always came back to stare at Shiro. 

“Hey,” Keith snapped to attention, eyes zeroing in on Shiro approaching him. He relaxed marginally when Shiro placed his left hand on his shoulder, watching him with concern. “Everything alright?” 

Keith shrugged, tearing his gaze away from dark grey eyes to stare at a random corner of the floor. “It’s fine, just…you know.” 

Shiro nodded; memories of a bedraggled Keith weighed down with the self-assigned burden of carrying the team should anything go wrong in order to protect Shiro, looking as if he would snap at a moment’s notice, sprung to his mind. Shiro made sure to take stock of Keith’s appearance, noting that despite the obvious nervous body language he was displaying he looked well-rested and healthy; he gave a gentle squeeze to Keith’s shoulder. 

“I’m proud of you,” Keith blinked, eyes darting up to meet Shiro’s again. They were warm and kind, a soft grey that had his cheeks flushing a light pink. “You’ve come a long way since our first show.” 

Keith laid his hand atop Shiro’s, fingers resting in the spaces between his. “So have you,” He replied, a small smile on his face. He remembered Shiro at their first show; tense, stressed, and frozen like a deer caught in the headlights when the spotlight fell on him in front of that crowd, it was such a stark contrast to the relaxed and confident visage that stood before him. 

“It’s all thanks to them.” 

One of the referenced ‘them’ poked their head in, nervously keeping his eyes on the hallway. “Uh, not to interrupt your bonding moment or whatever, really, but I’m _pretty_ sure Lance is about to spontaneously combust from excitement if you two don’t hurry up. And Pidge is willing to let it happen in the name of science.” 

Shiro laughed, removing his hand from Keith’s shoulder to face the Yellow Paladin. “Alright Hunk, we’ll be there soon.” he said; Hunk nodded, ducking back out of the doorway. Shiro looked over his shoulder at Keith, grinning. “You ready Keith?” 

Keith nodded, returning the grin. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

* * *

The arena was dark, the only light being provided were the glow sticks people carried in the hands and wore around their heads, necks, and wrists. The low buzz of multiple conversations occurring at the same time so closely together filled the air, drowning out the noises of the people shuffling backstage and ordering each other for last minute adjustments. People in the front began to scream, causing a ripple effect of cheers and applause as it spread backwards; if one squinted hard enough, perhaps they could make out vague figures in the shadows before the room was plunged into an even deeper blackness than before.

_And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Please give it up for…Voltron!_

Through the screams of the crowd the beginning of the song could be heard; it was a softer synthetic pop than one familiar with the genre would be used to, sounding more like a pop song with some synthetic elements. The rest of the instrumental was blocked out as a spotlight focused on Lance, leaving the others shrouded in darkness, causing the crowd’s screams to increase in volume. Lance was looking down at the floor, biting his lower lip before his head jerked up, blue eyes large and accentuated by the blue glitter underneath them, a melancholic expression on his face as he began to sing.

_Soaring passed the atmosphere_

_One thing on my mind_

Pidge on his left was suddenly illuminated, looking down at the ground with the same expression. He looked out to the ground, reaching out to an unseen person.

_Can’t focus on that lonely star_

_When I’m leaving you behind_

On Lance’s right Hunk was illuminated, hands clasped in front of him as he stared at the ground. He brought them up to his heart as his eyes closed.

_This may be my mission_

_But girl it’s you that I’m missin’_

Hunk, Lance, and Pidge linked hands, raising them up the ceiling as they raised their eyes up. They sang the next line in harmony, Hunk’s strong bass supporting Lance and Pidge’s duet.

_Just a lonely space cadet_

Lights flooded the stage, finally revealing Keith and Shiro, the screams of the crowd finally reaching their peak as all five members had finally been revealed. All five glided forward, the start of the choreography for the first chorus going off in perfect harmony as all five voices sang.

_Lonely little space cadet_

_Travelin’ ‘cross the universe_

_Lonely little space cadet_

_With you on my mind!_

While all five only sang the first and third lines while Lance sang the others, their arms reaching out and sweeping in front of them moved in perfect sync. They pulled back, sweeping through their hair at the word ‘mind’, each of them tossing and rolling their heads, as if their minds really were weighed down by a nameless loved one. The other four immediately began their background support as Pidge sang the second part of the chorus, hand held over his heart as he walked across the stage.

_No matter how many stars I traverse_

_No matter how many planets I find_

_I’ll always be thinkin’ ‘bout you_

_My home on Earth_

Hunk, Lance, and Pidge came together for the third line, with Keith and Shiro joining in for a five-part harmony for the final line. The crowd went wild, glow sticks waving wildly; the harmony had gone off without a single note out of place. Lance fought to keep the smile off his face in an effort to keep the somber atmosphere of the song, but he took comfort in knowing that he wasn’t the only one to be struggling. As they orbited each other, Lance could see each of them working diligently to keep the upturns of the mouths hidden from the fans in the front row. It was hard though, Lance admitted as he began the second verse; on stage, heart pounding with excitement and the thrill of the performance, hundreds of eyes watching his every move, Lance was living the dream. Born the middle child to a family that immediately immigrated to America after his birth and began their struggle to make a life in a foreign world, Lance craved to have everyone’s undivided attention on him. It was the reason behind a lot of his actions: why he was a jokester, why he wanted to go to college, wanted to become an astronaut, and finally ended up here. As long as he could get the world to stop and stare at him for just a moment, to acknowledge him, he was willing to put his entire being into whatever he did for it to happen.

_Lonely little space cadet_

_I’m lost out in space_

_Lonely little space cadet_

_Dreamin’ about your arms!_

Hunk’s strong bass rang out, reaching into its highest register as he sang the second and fourth lines. He focused on the words, fighting against the urge to poke at the barely noticeable urge to vomit into the crowd; he knew that if he began to examine it, it would be unstoppable. While the rush of a performance didn’t get him high like Lance though, he refused to let it pull him down into the inky depths of being physically ill. He was the Yellow Paladin of Voltron, the bass that provided the support for each of them to build and support each other as they reached for the higher notes. While he would have much rather preferred being backstage running and doing checks, he knew that without him the others would undoubtedly come crashing down; so he fought against every instinct using the tools and tips he had at his disposal, and sang.

_After all these comets I’ll chase_

_Makin’ sure I come to no harm (no harm)_

_Because when I get back to Earth_

_I wanna see your face_

Pidge steeled herself, singing the bridge between the second and third chorus as Lance and Hunk supported her, something cheesy about the main character in the song deciding to come back. If the song had played on the radio and she had a choice, Pidge would have already flipped the station to something more her taste; something more synthetic, or at least one of the alternative rock stations. At least her efforts to hide her grimace and cringing at the sappiness could be played off as her effortlessly acting as if she was in great emotional turmoil between following her dream and the love of her life.

_Lonely little space cadet_

_Riding a shooting star_

_Lonely little space cadet_

_Flying across the sky_

_I’m comin’ back to the place you are_

_So baby girl don’t you cry (Don’t cry)_

_Because when I get back to Earth_

_I’ll search the crowds for you_

_I’ll fall into your arms_

_My home on Earth_

They finished in their final pose, hands reaching out to the audience; immediately the crowd broke into cheers and applause. Lance panted, lifting his shirt to pat some of the sweat off his forehead, causing some of the girls in the front row to scream at the sight of his stomach. He made sure to look down and shoot them a smile with finger guns, fanning the flames to keep the positive response going. 

“Did you all like that?” Lance shouted out into the crowd; a thunderous roar was his reply, eliciting a laugh from the group. “Okay, it sounds like you guys _really_ liked that! Well don’t worry, plenty more where that came from. In case you didn’t know, that’s off our newest album _Out of This World_. Check it out if you haven’t already, and go buy it in the souvenir shop if you don’t already own it!”

“Or download it online,” Pidge spoke, pushing her glasses up her nose. Lance nodded vigorously, turning back to the crowd. 

“Yeah, but make sure to do it legally. If any of you guys got in trouble well…” Lance sighed, placing the back of his hand against his forehead, “I just…I couldn’t live with myself!”

Shouted promises to buy were heard, as well as pleas for Lance to not worry about them. Lance smiled, looking out across the sea of faceless people and various posters being held high into the air. He saw one that had his face drawn on it in a rather cartoonish manner, making his smile even wider. 

“Hey, whoever’s got the cartoon sign out there, I think you’re tonight’s poster winner.” Lance pointed at the poster, causing hundreds of heads to turn in sync as people tried to catch a glimpse of this alleged poster. A ‘we love you Lance’ could be heard faintly in the back, most likely from the poster’s owners. 

“Love you guys too,” Lance replied, blowing a kiss. “But, as much as I’d love to keep talking to you all, we gotta get a move on. After all, tonight’s show is very special; we’re debuting our brand spankin’ new Hidgance set! So Pidge, if you’d be so kind to keep the ball rolling.” 

“With pleasure Lance,” Pidge replied, stepping forward into the leader spot that Lance had vacated for her. Already she could feel her entire demeanor change, both physically and mentally; she may just be the Green Paladin, but this song was all hers. 

“Alright guys, who’s ready for some _real_ music?” Pidge shouted, pumping her fist into the air. “It’s an oldie but a goodie, and my personal favorite; let’s get ready to _Wormhole_!”

* * *

The door to the dressing room burst open as Pidge launched herself onto the couch, bouncing a few times before settling. She managed to collect all the pillows and wrap herself into a tight blanket cocoon as Hunk shot his way to the bathroom, door slamming shut behind him; the sounds of retching could soon be heard. Shiro and Keith stumbled in, both in varying stages of exhaustion, while Lance glided through the air, settling down in one of the make-up chairs primly. 

“I think we really outdid ourselves guys!” Lance preened, fixing his pristine make-up in the mirror. “I mean did you hear that crowd? They loved the new Hidgance set!” 

“Pidge move over, I wanna sit down.” 

Shiro sat with a heavy sigh, leaning back into the other couch. “I will admit, Allura and I had some reservations, but it really went off without a hitch.” 

Pidge’s head popped out from the blankets to glare at Keith. “Fuck no, unlike _some_ introverts here I actually did something tonight. Get your own couch.” 

Lance peered over at the bathroom. “Hunk, buddy? You need me to get you anything? Glass a water, maybe your meds?” 

“Pidge I swear to God I _will_ sit on you.” 

“Naw I’m good,” Hunk shakily replied, voice muffled by the door. “Just gimme like…a minute. Let my stomach settle while I brush my teeth, ya know?”

“Bitch I’d like to see you try.” Pidge shot back; she promptly shrieked as Keith plopped down on top of her, a smug smirk on his face. “ _Shiro_ , tell Keith to get his bony flat ass off of me!” 

“Alright, but just holler if you need anything.” 

Shiro sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Keith, stop antagonizing Pidge and come over here if you want to sit down. Pidge, try not to get glitter on the couch, unless you want Allura to punish us.” 

Keith crossed his arms, glaring down at Pidge. “It’s the principle of the matter Shiro; Pidge needs to learn to share. Plus, Hunk should sit somewhere comfortable.” 

Pidge sputtered as Hunk came out of the bathroom, rubbing his stomach. “Oh look who’s talking, Mr. I’mma-Hog-All-Your-Pillows-If-They’re-On-My-Bunk! And Shiro, I will gladly go down if that means I’m taking _this_ asshole with me.” 

Shiro leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling as if it held the answers to this argument. Hunk dug through his bag, looking for one of his post-show snacks as he spoke. “Keith, don’t worry about it; I’ll just move Pidge myself to make room.” 

Pidge laughed, sticking her tongue out at Keith; Keith gave her a final glare before pushing off, making sure to press extra hard. He smirked at Pidge’s yelp, settling in next to Shiro and adjusting himself until he was curled into a ball at the edge of the couch. Hunk easily lifted Pidge’s legs, placing himself at the end of the couch with a comfortable sigh, head tipped back in comfort. This was arguably each of their favorite time through the whole concert ordeal; the chance to relax in the same room as each other, doing whatever they wanted to relax, basking in the glow of a show well done. The energy was always mellow, even in Lance’s case as every atom in his body vibrated with excess energy. The only way that the mood could be disturbed would be if Allura came in, face flushed with excitement as she debriefed them on the crowd’s reactions, or if they had VIP fans who were allowed a few minutes to meet with the group; the knocking at the door signified the latter, as Allura usually burst in unannounced. 

“Coming,” Lance sang, skipping to the door as the others watched him with expressions ranging from amusement to something vaguely resembling horror. How he managed to continue being so energetic even after giving a powerhouse performance was beyond them; Keith grumbled something about energy vampires as Shiro patted his head in comfort. Lance checked his clothes and hair before opening the door wide, leaning against the doorframe with _just_ enough tilt that his shirt rode up and offered a tantalizing glimpse of the shining brown beneath. 

“Well hello there ladies.” Lance purred, offering a flirty smirk. “How are we doing this fine night?” 

The two girls stood stunned in front of the door, a blonde decked in official Blue Paladin gear while the brunette was decked in Red Paladin clothes. Both of their faces were flushed, although Lance was pretty sure the girl dressed in his colors had stopped breathing. Lance pouted, tilting his head to the side and fluttering his eyelashes innocently. 

“What’s wrong? Do I offend?” Lance pulled at his shirt, looking down. “I probably should’ve changed before you came; you don’t mind if I take it off now, do you?”

“No not at all.” the blonde breathed; her friend elbowed her roughly as she hissed her name. Normally Lance would have caught the name, however as soon as she had said it he had been clocked in the back of the head with something firm but soft. 

He spun around, spotting the offending paperback lying on the ground. “Alright, which one of you did that?” 

Unanimously, each of them pointed at Pidge, who looked as if she hadn’t moved at all. However, her hand was raised in the air, clearly taking blame for what had happened. Lance narrowed his eyes, bending down to pick up the paperback. 

“You could at least _act_ ashamed.” 

“Yeah well, some of us don’t wanna see a striptease, but we can’t all get what we want.” 

Shiro sighed, pushing himself off the couch to greet the girls with a warm smile. “Ignore them; they always get like this when Lance flirts. I hope you two enjoyed the show?” 

The girl dressed in Keith’s colors straightened up. “O-Of course! It was great, amazing even! Getting the privilege to see a new set being debuted is great, especially since Caitlyn-oh, that’s Caitlyn,” She said, gesturing to the blonde behind her, “And my name is Meghan, but anyway, Caitlyn is a _huge_ fan of Lance!”

Lance’s eyes lit up with mischief as he sidled up to Caitlyn. “Oh, is that so? Well, no need to be shy, I don’t bite.” Lance smirked, a hint of sharp canine showing. “Unless of course, you _want_ me to.” 

A high pitched, strangled, stuttered mess of unintelligible words left Caitlyn’s mouth, face as red as Meghan’s shirt. While he spoke, Lance had wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to his side; she was far from uncomfortable, if her star struck facial expression was anything to go by. Even Meghan was affected, face flushed heavily and as her breathing quickened, eyes trained on Lance and her friend. Lance slid in between the two girls, leaning in conspiratorially towards Meghan. 

“Of course, since you’re more of a Keith fan, I feel obligated to warn you; he _does_ bite. Quite hard, if I do say so myself.” 

He locked eyes with Keith, making sure to keep his best shit-eating grin on his face; he spoken loud enough that he knew Keith would hear him, yet still kept that air of confidentiality between him and Meghan. Judging by the way Meghan seemed paralyzed as her eyes darted to look at Keith, he would say that so far things were going quite according to plan. Now, as long as Keith took the bait…

“That was _one_ time!” 

Hook, line and sinker. 

Lance sniffed, pouting and making sure his voice at a slight warble to it as he spoke. “Yeah, and you left such vicious marks, right where everyone could see! Don’t you know how embarrassed I was having to explain them away to people?” 

The incident that Lance was referencing had occurred relatively early on in the career, when everyone was still learning each other’s quirks. Shiro had shared some of his life before becoming an idol, mentioning that friends had called him a ‘grandpa’ and that, when paired with Keith’s prickly attitude yet fondness for Shiro, had dubbed Keith ‘his asshole cat’. Looking back, Lance wasn’t sure what exactly made him think it was a good idea, but at the time he thought he should see if Keith, like all cats, enjoyed having his chin scratched. So, against the better judgement of everyone else, he had snuck up on Keith while sleeping, reached under his chin and began to scratch, and had promptly gotten viciously bit on the hand. It gave Lance a fun story to tell to fans though, although he tended to leave out the context and embellish a few details, leaving them to fill in the blanks based on his words and Keith’s reactions. If they happened to imagine something a little more intimate with a lot less clothing then Lance certainly wasn’t going to stop them; free speech, will, and all that jazz, right?

Keith growled, eyes narrowing to slits. “Well maybe if you _listened_ , and kept your hands to _yourself _, it wouldn’t have happened.”__

__Out of the corner of his eyes, Lance could see the girls transfixed by the conversation occurring in front of them, red faces a sign that they were probably having less than innocent thoughts at the moment. Meanwhile, Keith hadn’t caught onto the game Lance was playing; usually when he had, his own face would flush alongside angrily stuttered promises to get back at Lance. Before Lance could see just how far he could stretch this one, Shiro gave a disapproving stare, arms crossed over his chest._ _

__“I think that’s enough Lance. Why don’t we let the girls tell us what they want so that they can go home? I’m sure they’re very tired.”_ _

__Lance shrugged, releasing both of them; the spell he had on them was instantly broken. Meghan was the first to recover, as Caitlyn still stood in a Lance-induced daze._ _

__“Oh no no no, don’t worry about us! We’ve got tons of energy still! It’s you guys who are probably really tired, and we’re just here, keeping you awake as if you aren’t super busy and tired!”_ _

__Shiro chuckled, smiling warmly at the girls. “Well, what can we do for you?”_ _

__Meghan twisted her small backpack to the front of her body, ruffling through it. She began pulling out various posters of them from different magazines, as well as pens to sign them with. “W-Well, we were hoping to, you know, get autographs, maybe a photo together? I-If you have the time of course, no pressure!”_ _

__“Specifically a picture together with Lance and Keith!” Caitlyn shouted; the group stilled, staring at her. She flushed a darker shade of red, hiding more behind Meghan. “I-If, um, i-if they want to, o-obviously.”_ _

__Pidge grinned, sitting up so that the blankets fell from her shoulders. “Oh, you want the Klance special?”_ _

__Lance pouted, glaring at Pidge as Caitlyn and Meghan nodded enthusiastically behind him. “Pidge stop calling it that.”_ _

__“I’ll stop calling it that when it stops trending on Twitter.”_ _

__“Anyway, do you girls have more than one pen?” Shiro asked, taking the offered pen and pictures of himself. Meghan nodded, digging through the bag and producing multiple pens. She handed them to Lance who, after taking his pictures, passed them and the other pictures around the room._ _

__“Oh hey, how do you spell your names? I mean, they seem simple enough, but the way I spell it and you spell it is probably different you know? Not to mention some of the _really_ different ways people spell them.” Hunk asked, rubbing the back of his neck; Caitlyn and Meghan acquiesced, spelling out their names. Pidge groaned, tilting her head back against the couch. _ _

__“Ugh, are you talking about that time we met someone named David, except instead of a ‘v’ they used an ‘f’ and ‘y’, _and_ had two ‘d’s at the end? Also Lance, what lines are you using?” _ _

__“Actually I was thinking more of the time we met someone named Sydney, except she spelled her name with a ‘c’ and two ‘e’s.”_ _

__Lance grinned, finishing his signature with a flourish. “Well, for my dear Caitlyn here, I’ve written that her beauty outshines the brightest star in our galaxy, which is nothing short of the truth.” he gave a wink, moving on to reading Meghan’s. “As for Meghan, I wrote that if I were da Vinci, she’d be my Mona Lisa.”_ _

__Keith looked up, handing the posters over to Shiro to hand back to the girls. “The one that pisses me off the most is people who name their kids after actual countries. Like forget the terrible misspellings, why would you name your kid _Syria_? Just doesn’t make sense.” _ _

__Hunk nodded in agreement as Pidge furiously wrote out her responses. “Oh good, you chose easy ones for me to ruin.” She handed hers back to Caitlyn and Meghan, smiling. “In case you can’t read my chicken scratch for you, Caitlyn, it says that the brightest star in our galaxy is Sirius. As for you Meghan, I wrote that the subject of the Mona Lisa has never been found to be a lover of da Vinci. In fact, a lot of historians argue over whether he was actively homosexual or a celibate homosexual. Personally reading into the topic and his notes and letters, I feel like he is clearly stating that he’s asexual, although he might be aesthetically attracted to men-”_ _

__“Pidge you’re rambling again.” Hunk prodded Pidge in the shoulder; she blinked, flushing lightly. She muttered out an apology while the others handed their posters back to Meghan and Caitlyn. Shiro headed over to the door, opening it and sticking his head out; quiet talking could be heard between him and the security guard, most likely trying to get him to take the group picture. Shiro stepped aside, allowing the large man in the black t-shirt to step into the room._ _

__“Alright, Dave here said he’s willing to take the group shot, so hand him your phones.”_ _

__A chorus of thanks could be heard around the room; Dave merely raised his hand, brushing them aside as if they weren’t needed, thought the small smile showed they were appreciated. Light discussions were held on how many phones should be given, and it was soon decided that Caitlyn and Lance’s phones would be used and the photos would be distributed via text to the appropriate people. They grouped together similar to their Voltron formation, Shiro in the middle with Keith on his immediate right and Pidge on his immediate left; behind Keith stood Lance, arms slung over shoulders, and behind Pidge stood Hunk. Crouched in front of the group were Caitlyn and Meghan, hands held up in a ‘V’, bright smiles on their faces. After the digital shutters were heard the group dispersed; Shiro took the cameras from Dave, offering a quiet thanks._ _

__Shiro turned around, lifting up Meghan’s phone first. “Alright guys, get together nice and close now.”_ _

__Lance grinned, slinging an arm around Caitlyn and Keith’s shoulders and bringing them in closer. Both let out surprised noises, Caitlyn flushing once again as Keith loosened Lance’s grip on his shoulder with a glare. Before he could enjoy his minor amount of freedom he felt Meghan press up against his right side, clinging to the fabric of his jacket sleeve. He sighed, putting on his best photoshoot smile as Shiro took the pictures; Shiro offered him an apologetic smile from behind the camera. Once finished, Shiro handed back the phones, Meghan releasing Keith to look at the photos on Caitlyn’s phone. Lance hummed in thought, staring at the photo they had just taken, his arm still wrapped around Caitlyn’s shoulder._ _

__“Selfie time,” Lance sang, snagging Keith around the shoulders again and pressing them even closer than before._ _

__“What did I _just_ say about keeping your hands to yourself?” _ _

__Lance hummed, turning on the front-facing camera; he watched as Meghan popped into the bottom with Caitlyn, the two girls scrunching together. “Dunno, wasn’t paying that close attention.”_ _

__“Then allow me to remind you later tonight.”_ _

__He had to say this _just_ right to get the reaction he wanted for this picture. “Mm, punish me however you want; I’m all yours.” _ _

__Keith’s cheeks filled bright red, and with a wink and quick press of a button, it was forever immortalized before he had a chance to push away. Lance immediately made a mad dash for the door, cackling the entire way with Keith hot on his heels. Even once the two had made it out the door and farther down the hall Lance could still be heard laughing like a madman while Keith threatened him loudly, leaving the two fans staring in shock at the door._ _

__Shiro sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I apologize for those two. Again, thank you very much for coming; Dave can show you out.”_ _

__The two nodded, exiting the room cautiously as if they were expecting more madness. Shiro offered them a final friendly wave before turning back around the room, hands placed firmly on his hips._ _

__“Alright Pidge, now let’s…” Shiro stopped, blinking as he realized he was talking to an empty room. He zeroed in on a post-it note on the cover of the book; he picked it up, immediately recognizing Hunk’s large letters and Pidge’s scratchy writing._ _

_Sorry Shiro, gotta go help Coran strike the stage!_

_Shiro: Got no time to talk, I’m a dead girl walking!_ <

Shiro plopped onto the couch he previously occupied, staring up at the ceiling as if it could offer him strength to wrangle his bandmates. Sighing in defeat, he picked up the book and began to read once again; at least _one_ of them was gonna be there when Allura came in for debriefing. 

**Author's Note:**

> 14fox on FFN requested this, so here you go! Hope you enjoy! Also look at how I snuck the title of the series in there; so proud of myself.


End file.
